People urged to stay inside after 'large-scale' fire breaks out in garden

A "large scale" fire has prompted emergency services to tell people living nearby to stay indoors and keep their windows and doors shut.

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service (SWFRS) was called to a shed blaze in the garden of a property on Victoria Street, Treharris, in Merthyr Tydfil, at 15:21 BST on Sunday.

The fire service said crews from Aberbargoed, Pontypridd, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly and Maindee were all at the scene.

People are being urged to avoid the area while emergency services deal with the fire, but there is not thought to be any injuries.

SWFRS said the fire was "ongoing" but its response was expected to be scaled back shortly.

Local councillor Gareth Richards said three people were in the community centre on Perrott Street, which is also being used by emergency services.

Local resident Andrea Parfitt described the situation as "quite scary".

She said she was on her way home from her mother's house when she "could smell smoke and could see the flames".

Andrea explained how the site, previously a St John Ambulance hall, was now used for storage.

"Some of the neighbours have been evacuated," she said.

"There's still a lot of smoke in the street - it was quite scary - I was in two minds to leave by my back door."

Andrea added she could still smell smoke and see flames, but was not aware of any houses being directly affected.